State level competitions of Special Olympics Bharat, a sports event for people with intellectual disabilities (ID), will be held in Kozhikode of Kerala on November 1, 2 and 3. The event is happening in Kerala after a gap of six years; the last edition was held in Thiruvananthapuram in 2018. The Special Olympics Bharat-Kerala, will conduct training of persons with ID for the sporting events, and offer opportunities to participate in state, national and international level competitions.
The Special Olympics International (SOI) was founded in 1968 by American philanthropist Eunice Mary Kennedy, with the first competitions happening in Chicago for young people with ID. On its website, the goal of the event is described as putting "a bright and very public spotlight on ability, not disability".
Twenty years later, in 1988, the programme came to India. Special Olympics India was formed in Mumbai with the enrollment of 10,000 athletes. It was revitalised in 2001 after it was moved to Bengaluru, with Air Marshal Denzil Keloor forming the Special Olympics Bharat to spearhead the competitions. The Kerala chapter of the organisation, SOB-Kerala, will conduct training and begin the programme with district level meets.
The competitions are expected to take place at the Kozhikode Medical College and Devagiri College grounds. Participants will be divided into five age groups and further into two categories based on their performances. As many as 5,000 students from 400 BUDS schools (for persons with learning disabilities) and public schools in Kerala will take part in 27 competitions.